Fernando Villanea
@fervillanea.bsky.social
He/Him. Assistant Professor of Anthropology at CU Boulder. March Mammal Madness Genetics Team. Population genetics of Neanderthals and other people. Latino in STEM 🇨🇷
Pinned
The MUC19 gene: An evolutionary history of recurrent introgression and natural selection
We study the gene MUC19, for which some modern humans carry a Denisovan-like haplotype. MUC19 is a mucin, a glycoprotein that forms gels with various biological functions. We find diagnostic variants ...
www.science.org
Our paper on the evolution of MUC19 in humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans is finally out today in Science!
This has been a six-year effort by 13 authors to weave together 3 separate but related evolutionary stories around this one gene (more on thread 🧵).
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This has been a six-year effort by 13 authors to weave together 3 separate but related evolutionary stories around this one gene (more on thread 🧵).
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics
A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
This blows. The Biology DDIG was archived when I was a biology PhD student and that sucked. Now the Bio anthropology one is getting archived as my students are about to submit. I wish I didn’t know first hand just how much this is going to demoralize them.
All NSF SBE DDRIG solicitations have been archived and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Grants currently submitted will be processed, but as always, chances of funding remain very low. This means anyone aiming for the upcoming deadline will not be able to submit. 1/3
November 27, 2025 at 2:14 AM
This blows. The Biology DDIG was archived when I was a biology PhD student and that sucked. Now the Bio anthropology one is getting archived as my students are about to submit. I wish I didn’t know first hand just how much this is going to demoralize them.
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
All NSF SBE DDRIG solicitations have been archived and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Grants currently submitted will be processed, but as always, chances of funding remain very low. This means anyone aiming for the upcoming deadline will not be able to submit. 1/3
November 26, 2025 at 2:08 PM
All NSF SBE DDRIG solicitations have been archived and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Grants currently submitted will be processed, but as always, chances of funding remain very low. This means anyone aiming for the upcoming deadline will not be able to submit. 1/3
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
November 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
We are excited to share our recent work on the surprising robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG) inference tools to computational phasing errors, now available on BioRxiv: biorxiv.org/content/10.1....
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
Robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph Inference Tools to Phasing Errors
Ancestral Recombination Graphs (ARGs) are fundamental population genetic structures that encode the genealogical history of a sample of haplotypes along the genome. They have recently received substan...
biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:09 PM
We are excited to share our recent work on the surprising robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG) inference tools to computational phasing errors, now available on BioRxiv: biorxiv.org/content/10.1....
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
Archaeologists discover that Neanderthals ate the women and children first. 🧪🏺
Neanderthals cannibalized 'outsider' women and children 45,000 years ago at cave in Belgium
Fragmented Neanderthal bones discovered in a cave in Belgium show that one group cannibalized the women and children of another group.
www.livescience.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Archaeologists discover that Neanderthals ate the women and children first. 🧪🏺
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
So much fun! Catch up at 9pm tonight or on BBC Sounds at your leisure www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Stand by your radios at 09:00 UK time! I’ll be on R4’s Start the Week with @adamrutherford.bsky.social talking about CRICK. Also with Alison Bashford talking about science and the occult in the history of palmistry and Charlotte Houldcroft describing her work on DNA viruses.
November 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
So much fun! Catch up at 9pm tonight or on BBC Sounds at your leisure www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
We are recruiting!
If you like evolutionary biology, microbial genomics, and host-pathogen interactions we have a PhD opening at @ugiatucl.bsky.social using population-scale metagenomics to map global phage diversity and uncover evolutionary signatures that could point to new antimicrobials.
If you like evolutionary biology, microbial genomics, and host-pathogen interactions we have a PhD opening at @ugiatucl.bsky.social using population-scale metagenomics to map global phage diversity and uncover evolutionary signatures that could point to new antimicrobials.
November 24, 2025 at 10:50 AM
We are recruiting!
If you like evolutionary biology, microbial genomics, and host-pathogen interactions we have a PhD opening at @ugiatucl.bsky.social using population-scale metagenomics to map global phage diversity and uncover evolutionary signatures that could point to new antimicrobials.
If you like evolutionary biology, microbial genomics, and host-pathogen interactions we have a PhD opening at @ugiatucl.bsky.social using population-scale metagenomics to map global phage diversity and uncover evolutionary signatures that could point to new antimicrobials.
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
Paper out now: A curated dataset of the great ape genome diversity!
rdcu.be/eQLCi
rdcu.be/eQLCi
A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity
Scientific Data - A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity
rdcu.be
November 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Paper out now: A curated dataset of the great ape genome diversity!
rdcu.be/eQLCi
rdcu.be/eQLCi
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
And another paper from the admixlab: SAI - statistics for adaptive introgression!
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
SAI: A Python Package for Statistics for Adaptive Introgression
Abstract. Adaptive introgression is an important evolutionary process, which can be identified with widely used summary statistics, such as the number of u
doi.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:51 PM
And another paper from the admixlab: SAI - statistics for adaptive introgression!
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
The 2026 EMBL symposium 'Reconstructing the human past using ancient and modern genomics' is live with a fantastic invited speaker lineup!
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
November 19, 2025 at 1:41 PM
The 2026 EMBL symposium 'Reconstructing the human past using ancient and modern genomics' is live with a fantastic invited speaker lineup!
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
Hello bluesky community!
I'm hiring a postdoc to do machine learning in population genetics.
Starting to build up a lab at Indiana University Bloomington where I just started a faculty position.
Apply with the below link: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/30325
I'm hiring a postdoc to do machine learning in population genetics.
Starting to build up a lab at Indiana University Bloomington where I just started a faculty position.
Apply with the below link: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/30325
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
The department of Biology is a large, unified department with strong undergraduate degrees, nationally-ranked graduate programs, and world-class research spanning the breadth of biological questions a...
indiana.peopleadmin.com
August 11, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Hello bluesky community!
I'm hiring a postdoc to do machine learning in population genetics.
Starting to build up a lab at Indiana University Bloomington where I just started a faculty position.
Apply with the below link: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/30325
I'm hiring a postdoc to do machine learning in population genetics.
Starting to build up a lab at Indiana University Bloomington where I just started a faculty position.
Apply with the below link: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/30325
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
Amazing to have a byline with @cbo.bsky.social - read our take on Watson’s ultimate legacy in the Boston Globe. Will be in Sunday’s print edition.
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
What James Watson got wrong about DNA - The Boston Globe
The science he helped pioneer consistently undermines his view that genes determine everything about us.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Amazing to have a byline with @cbo.bsky.social - read our take on Watson’s ultimate legacy in the Boston Globe. Will be in Sunday’s print edition.
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
What James Watson got wrong about DNA - The Boston Globe
The science he helped pioneer consistently undermines his view that genes determine everything about us.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
Come and join us here in Cambridge! Applications open for a new faculty position, for a researcher in computational and/or theoretical biology, based jointly in Genetics and Mathematics. Happy to answer questions about research, teaching and working here.
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
Faculty Position in Computational Biology
Applications are invited for an Assistant/ Associate Professorship in Computational Biology to commence on 1 April 2026 or shortly thereafter. This is a joint post between the Department of Applied
www.cam.ac.uk
November 11, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Come and join us here in Cambridge! Applications open for a new faculty position, for a researcher in computational and/or theoretical biology, based jointly in Genetics and Mathematics. Happy to answer questions about research, teaching and working here.
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
Each one of my lectures starts with a meme, and rarely do my 18-20yo students get the reference, but today I feel like I have driven that generational wedge even deeper 😅
November 11, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Each one of my lectures starts with a meme, and rarely do my 18-20yo students get the reference, but today I feel like I have driven that generational wedge even deeper 😅
Watched Jurassic Park on the theater re-release tonight. Great film 32 years later but I did notice the genetics are very 90s coded. Dinosaurs are all girls bc they withhold SRY presumably by making the dinos XX even though they’re birds so they’d be ZZ. Two thoughts:
November 6, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Watched Jurassic Park on the theater re-release tonight. Great film 32 years later but I did notice the genetics are very 90s coded. Dinosaurs are all girls bc they withhold SRY presumably by making the dinos XX even though they’re birds so they’d be ZZ. Two thoughts:
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
This is so metal. #spoods
World's biggest spiderweb discovered inside 'Sulfur Cave' with 111,000 arachnids living in pitch black
www.livescience.com/animals/spid...
www.livescience.com/animals/spid...
World's biggest spiderweb discovered inside 'Sulfur Cave' with 111,000 arachnids living in pitch black
A giant colonial spiderweb in a sulfuric cave on the border between Greece and Albania may be the largest ever found — and it was built by spiders we didn't know liked the company of others.
www.livescience.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:58 AM
This is so metal. #spoods
In honor of the theatrical re-release of Jurassic Park tomorrow.
November 4, 2025 at 6:06 PM
In honor of the theatrical re-release of Jurassic Park tomorrow.
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
The #BioTech #ColossalBio is developing will transform healthcare; genetic disease & infertility? Gone. Monetizing tech is the point, not deëxtinction, but that tech begets designer babies (aka eugenics) — this is why critical discussion of their rhetoric matters 🧪 🐋🌱
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Biotech Barbie’ says the time has come to consider CRISPR babies. Do scientists agree?
A company’s plan to edit the genomes of human embryos worries some researchers — but it might reflect the changing attitudes towards the controversial approach.
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The #BioTech #ColossalBio is developing will transform healthcare; genetic disease & infertility? Gone. Monetizing tech is the point, not deëxtinction, but that tech begets designer babies (aka eugenics) — this is why critical discussion of their rhetoric matters 🧪 🐋🌱
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A vampire that’s not Dracula
<_< >_>
<_< >_>
October 30, 2025 at 2:34 AM
A vampire that’s not Dracula
<_< >_>
<_< >_>
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
1/5
🦖 Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (1990) turns 35 in November. In a new preprint, I argue that it was a prescient meditation on evolutionary genetics, complexity, & control. I also examine analogous efforts of today (e.g. “de-extinction.")
Select points below:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
🦖 Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (1990) turns 35 in November. In a new preprint, I argue that it was a prescient meditation on evolutionary genetics, complexity, & control. I also examine analogous efforts of today (e.g. “de-extinction.")
Select points below:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
October 14, 2025 at 12:49 PM
1/5
🦖 Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (1990) turns 35 in November. In a new preprint, I argue that it was a prescient meditation on evolutionary genetics, complexity, & control. I also examine analogous efforts of today (e.g. “de-extinction.")
Select points below:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
🦖 Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (1990) turns 35 in November. In a new preprint, I argue that it was a prescient meditation on evolutionary genetics, complexity, & control. I also examine analogous efforts of today (e.g. “de-extinction.")
Select points below:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
50 years ago, King & Wilson published a foundational paper that underlies the cis-regulatory paradigm (CRP) of #DevoEvo #EvoDevo, i.e., that *almost* all morphological evolution is driven by mutations in regulatory elements, rather than proteins, and it all arose from simple misunderstanding 🧪 🧵
October 29, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Reposted by Fernando Villanea
We are excited to announce a new open search for a tenure track Assistant Professor position within the Brown University Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research!
Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/175427
Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/175427
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM
We are excited to announce a new open search for a tenure track Assistant Professor position within the Brown University Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research!
Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/175427
Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/175427